


The Stars Above Are Just Disco Lights

by snickers (orphan_account)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Drag Queens, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Blue Spirit Zuko (Avatar), Coming Out, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Kataang and Maiko aren't a good fit so they're cancellled, Katara is bi, Mai Redemption, One-sided Aang/Katara (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Slow Burn Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka and Aang are the only fully straight people, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), The Painted Lady is Katara's drag name, Zuko is pan, but Blue Spirit is his drag name, queer people in m/f relationships whilst not undermining their queerness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:06:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25262818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/snickers
Summary: Katara (and her drag persona the Painted Lady) is stuck in a loop of boring marine biology classes, late night shows, and the same order of tea at the Jasmine Dragon. But as her drag career is revealed to her roommates, things start to change, for the better and the worse. At least work at The Closet is picking up with a new queen on stage - the Blue Spirit.--Zuko is in a stagnant relationship of three years with his sister's friend, but he feels like neither of them actually like each other. Perhaps a change in scenery might do him some good - and even provide a creative outlet other than snapping at his Ba Sing Se dorm neighbours  or hiding from Mai? And why does the Painted Lady look hauntingly familiar?--Aka, the drag and uni AU that no-one asked for! Slow burn, starts with canon shipping but dismantles that.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar) (past), Aang/Toph Beifong, Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	The Stars Above Are Just Disco Lights

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! This is my first ATLA fic - in fact I only watched ATLA for the first time last week. Hope you enjoy the crazy mix of AUs. Comments are greatly appreciated (or even constructive feedback).
> 
> Enjoy!

Katara couldn’t feel her feet. The loud music pulsed in the background as she sashayed to the beat. The thick white and red makeup on her face, not to mention the heavy headdress and outfit, weighed her down as she danced. As the song drew to an end, she popped her hip, snapped a hand up, and fell back to the floor with a flourished death drop. The disco lights going wild as well as the crowd, Katara finally stood, curtseyed, and strutted out the door at the back of the stage. With more raucous applause, she could hear the speakerphone crackle.

“That’s all for tonight folks! Taking us out with a stunning drop, it’s our very own dance queen, The Painted Lady! Give it up for her one more time!”

Katara limped slightly leaning left as she went down the stage steps and into the non-male dressing room for the night. The other drag queens were in stages of undress, having performed earlier, and they all paused to give her a mini clap as she walked in, with a few more _yass queen_ ’s and _slay_ ’s than necessary. She sighed heavily as she slumped into her chair, immediately reaching up to detach her headpiece and wig. In the seat to her right was Yue, a friend who’d left university after a fast-track two year course in makeup artistry, and now worked full time as her drag persona, Luna. Yue leaned over and held onto Katara’s wig as she gently shook out her natural hair. Katara took the wig back and placed it on the shelf above their mirrors, next to an extensive and expensive bag full of Yue’s favourite makeup. It was the first time all day Katara had had to sit down and relax all day, and she proceeded to do just that, while wiping the heavy face paint, eyeliner, and cheap glue stick glue off of her face.

As two in the morning rapidly approached, Katara took off the final finishing touches of her drag and slipped back into her normal-person clothes of dark grey jeans and a blue hoodie. Identical blue hair clips fastened in, Katara bid the club goodbye and slipped out the back door. Although the alleyway was quiet, she kept a hand on the heavy metal water bottle in her satchel, and the other in her pocket, tightly clasping her dorm keys. Walking briskly and brushing past the numerous drunks in the street, Katara pulled her hoodie sleeves down against the mid-September night chill. The university, Republic City Uni, wasn’t far from the nightlife district Katara frequented for her job. 

As she passed the neon lightning of yet another bar, Katara’s phone buzzed. After checking both ways to be sure no one is in fit shape to snatch it and run, Katara pulled it out of her bag to check the message.

Reminder: Fish and Fisheries Class Optional Elective @ 09:00 AM.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes and shoved her phone back into her pocket. Class tomorrow morning - and more specifically class at the crack of dawn - would be the bane of her existence. Yawning, she trundled back towards the dorms.

Ba Sing Se House was the dorm closest to the city and with fewest residents. With multiple sizes of individual rooms and shared suites, the students there were an odd bunch, to say the least. As Katara keyed in the front door code and slipped inside, she could see the faint glow of red lights coming from the 18th suite, where she was pretty the trio of Azula, Ty Lee and Mai lived, although she wasn’t sure about Mai. Cursing their awareness at such a late hour, she remembered overhearing at the start of the year that they’d all managed to get their classes in the late afternoon, every day. Katara was sure there’s no way they pulled that off without a little dark magic, or at the very least a sacrifice to the timetabling gods. At least that explained why they were still up at such an ungodly hour like her - and at least they wouldn’t have to wake up for a stupidly early class about fish, of all things. 

Tip-toeing towards the 12th suite, she pulled out her house key. At the door (adorned with a big blue number 12 and a few random stickers courtesy of Sokka) all she could hear was silence. She quietly turned her key in the lock, slipped in, and shut the door behind herself. She shared her dorm (with the capacity for four people with one shared bathroom and living area) with her older brother Sokka and their younger friend from high school, Aang. She walked to the kitchen counter and took a drying glass from the draining board, and filled it with water from the tap. As she shucked her hoodie off and dropped it onto the back of the sofa, humming quietly, she heard a faint snore from Sokka’s room and smiled. He always swore _she_ was the one who snored. 

With her water and satchel bag, she made her way over to her room. Shutting the door behind herself and gently wedging it shut with a pile of second hand textbooks, she flicked on the nightlight by her bed. A soothing blue-green light filled the room as she kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag onto the floor by the bed. Yawning, she struggled out of her t-shirt, cursed the underwire in her bra as it joined the pile on the floor, yanked off her jeans and socks, and crawled under the covers in her underwear. Yawning again and rolling over, she turned the nightlight back off and closed her eyes.

———

It was the third time she hit snooze that Katara actually woke up. With a groan and a click of her neck, she swung her legs out of bed. She could already see the sun, well up above the horizon and terraced houses that the view of the window was composed of. With another glance to her phone (and the continuing alarm), she realised with a jolt that there was only half an hour to class - and the building for Fish and Fisheries was ten minutes away. Utterly exhausted from yet another late night, it took all Katara’s energy to stand up and fling open the wardrobe. She quickly changed her underwear and donned a somewhat fresh bra, then pulled on the first pair of jeans she could find and paired those with a grey t-shirt. She grabbed her satchel and pulled out her water bottle, keys, and chapstick, before rummaging under the bed for her school rucksack with her laptop in. Shoving in the relevant textbooks, she checked the time. Twenty minutes to class. 

She rushed out of her room, past Sokka on the sofa in their living space, and to the kitchen cabinets.

“Whoah, what’s the rush?” Sokka asked as he turned to look at her. 

“Fish class in like, fifteen minutes! I overslept again and all I need right now is some fucking food.”

“Hmm,” said Sokka. “I’d have pancakes for breakfast... and maybe like, leftover pizza.”

“We have leftover pizza? You had pizza without me?”

“Hm? No, I was thinking about my ideal breakfast. Aang put some weird vegan salad thing in the fridge yesterday though.”

Rolling her eyes, Katara reached for the fridge. “I’ll apologise to him later, tell him I took it, okay?”

“Pfft! You’re stealing his salad? God, you must be desperate. You could also have those energy bars you bought a week ago, dunno if anyone’s eaten them?”

With a frustrated and tired sigh, Katara shut the fridge. “I’m leaving for my fucking fish class, I, taking all six of my bars, I said we’d do lunch today and I’ll meet you back here at half twelve, okay?”

Sokka shrugged. “We did agree to that! Let’s go somewhere cheap for lunch.”

“Good! Bye!” Katara shoved them bars into her bag, scowled at Sokka, and left through the front door, taking care not to slam it behind herself, no matter how tired she was. As she stomped in the direction of her Fish and Fisheries class, the colour of the leaves caught the attention of her sleep deprived brain. Despite it being so early into autumn, the leaves were already starting to crisp and redden. It made the cross-campus walk quite beautiful, and it passed in a blur. 

Katara sidled into her class with two minutes to spare. The teacher wasn’t there yet, and she made her way to the back of the room, snagging one of the last good desks - right in the corner. Pulling her laptop out of her bag and fumbling around for the charging cable, she looked up as the teacher walked in. 

“Morning all, get your books and laptops out, we’re starting with a recap of last class.” An old man, the teacher was strict but effective in his methods. 

A few people, rows ahead of Katara, panicked over paper and power supplies. Katara had chosen the back row because that’s where the power outlets were. The door opened and the teacher tutted as a group of four sidled in and sat down in the empty front row, muttering apologies about their lateness. As her teacher plugged his computer into the whiteboard, the class settled down, and someone flicked off the lights. 

“Okay, so last week we started to cover the environmental value systems of overfishing in more economically developed countries.” 

Katara yawned. It was going to be a long class. 

———

The lights were flicked back on, making Katara jump behind her laptop screen. Had it really already been an hour and a half? With a check to the time on her phone, it was in fact nearly half ten. 

“Alright, you lot, stay seated a minute - I’m assigning textbook chapters, and I won’t repeat myself. Have you all got a pen ready?”

With a quiet curse under her breath, Katara pulled out her organised and embellished weekly planner. She started a new one every September, but it was always a matter of weeks before they became disorganised, or substituted for scribbled pen on the back of her hand. 

“Pages one hundred and fourteen through one hundred and fifty three. It’s not too many, and it’s for a week today.” Someone at the front groaned. “It’s no use moaning about it, I’ve set worse before, and I’ll set worse again. You’re all in your third year now, be happy! This is an elective course anyway, you didn’t sign up to complain.”

Katara and a few others chuckled at that. It might’ve been an elective, but they all needed the credits to pass the course. 

“All right, you can pack away and go now, I’ll see you all at the same time next week, and don’t be late. I’m looking at you, front row.”

Katara shoved her stuff into her bag, making sure to grab her laptop charger. Those were like gold for students, and she didn’t want to have to pay to replace another one. Muttering a goodbye to the teacher, she left the classroom straight out into the fresh air. She had quite a bit of time to kill before lunch with Sokka, so she yanked her student lanyard in and headed towards the edge of campus. 

There was one place Katara could always count on to be a good environment to study in, as well as having good, cheap tea. Crossing the road from campus to the town, hanging a left then a right, Katara pushed open the door to the Jasmine Dragon. 

The old man who ran the place, Iroh according to his name tag, waved a hand to her as she walked in. She’d been going to the Dragon for nearly a year now, and was firmly a regular. She headed over to the counter. 

“Katara! What can I get for you today? Your usual green blend or something else?”

“The usual please Iroh!” Katara had the coins ready in her hand. “Nothing beats your green tea and rosehip blend. I tried it with supermarket tea bags last week and it was disgusting!”

Iroh scoffed. “I’m sure it was. There is no skill, no honour, in supermarket tea. It would be like saying tea is simply leaf water. It’s not! I keep telling my nephew that, and he doesn’t listen.” Iroh busied himself with the large jars of fresh and dried herbs and blends behind the counter. “Are you here to study today?”

“Hm, yeah,” Katara nodded. “Got a load of reading about fish, of all things. The Jasmine Dragon is the best place to study, really.”

Iroh, having to talk louder over the noise of heating water, laughed. “I’m glad you think so. I only see you come in here on your own - everyone else brings their boyfriends and girlfriends. You must be so studious.”

Iroh poured her drink. 

“Not really, I just don’t have anyone like that in my life at the moment. Here - it’s two pounds right?”

Iroh took her four fifty-pence pieces. “Katara, it’s been two pounds since you came here the first time - students discount. Well, that and you choose a whole teapot of an affordable blend. It’s not like you go for the exotic blends. Here - here’s your tea. Take the strainer out after three or so minutes, you know the drill.”

Katara took the little tray carrying the teapot and teacup, thanking Iroh again, and made her way up the rickety stairs in the back corner. Very few people tended to go upstairs, despite it being nearly as spacious as the ground floor. It had a better view, too, and Katara snagged herself a window seat on a table for two - there were no lonely person tables. After dunking the strainer in the teapot a few times, Katara pulled out her phone and her textbook for Fish and Fisheries. Since it was an elective, it couldn’t just fit in with the regular Marine Biology third year textbook, no, it had to be a chunky tome of it's own. She shot a quick text to Sokka, managing to insult him, tell him (in a demanding manner) that lunch would be at Nando’s, and assure him she was studying hard, all in one message. Then she cracked out the highlighters and dug into her assigned reading. 

———

Katara poured out the last of her tea into her cup and took a sip. Somehow Iroh’s teas always stayed warm way after they should’ve been cold. The assigned reading hadn’t turned out to be that hard after all, and she’d been scrolling on her phone for the last half hour. She’d texted Yue a picture of a drag ball gown she’d found online, and Yue’d replied that it was rather too out of character for Luna or the Painted Lady but that she was going to send it to the group chat, because someone was sure to want a look. She’d also dropped a line to Aang asking if he’d found the portable phone charger he’d lost a few days ago on campus, but he hadn’t gotten back to her yet. She reckoned it was lost for good. Checking the time, she’d been at Iroh’s for over an hour.

Looking back at her phone as she drained her cup, she pressed on Sokka’s number to call him. 

“Hey,” he picked up. “Are you heading to Nando’s now? I’m fucking starving.”

“I’m just at the Dragon’s, I can be there in like, five minutes. How far away are you?”

Katara could hear Sokka sigh. “I’m still in the dorm. I can meet you there in fifteen minutes if I run?”

“Christ fishface, meet me in twenty, and don’t forget your keys again, your super-smart instincts didn’t remember that the last three times, did they?”

“Yeah yea, I’m grabbing them now. ‘Kay, I’ll see you soon.”

“See ya, nerd!” Katara quickly hung up before he could retaliate. Shoving her phone into her pocket, she stood and took the tea tray back downstairs to the counter. 

“Thanks Iroh, I’ll see you soon!”

Iroh waved her goodbye. “Thanks! Goodbye!”

She walked out into the crisp air and headed to meet Sokka.


End file.
